Popcorn
by Dark Aria
Summary: Oneshot of Cal and Niko watching TV one night. Takes place between Nightlife and Moonshine.


_This is just a little scene that takes place between Nightlife and Moonshine. It was inspired by watching BBC's Planet Earth._

OOOoooOOO

**-Popcorn-**

Cal shook out equal portions of popcorn into two bowls. In one bowl, he poured melted butter and stirred until it was almost yellow. He shook the saltshaker over that bowl like a maraca, too. Then he carried both bowls out to the living room where Niko was ensconced on the couch, surrounded by heavy textbooks.

"Your Styrofoam, sir," he said cheerfully, setting the plain popcorn at his brother's elbow.

"Thank you." Niko glanced over at Cal's golden, salty mess and grimaced. Cal grinned and grabbed the remote. He plopped down on the opposite end of the couch. With one hand he flicked through the channels, while the other shoveled hot popcorn into his mouth.

Niko ate his slowly while taking notes for a paper he was writing. When he couldn't ignore the channel surfing any longer, he flicked his pen against Cal's knee. "Switch to the Discovery Channel. At least some kernel of knowledge may penetrate that skull of yours."

Cal snorted, but did as he was told. The show was about caves, and for a while he watched with mild interest as the narrator droned on about rock formations, underground rivers, and bats. Then the show went into creatures that evolved to live in the subterranean world and never saw daylight. Glowworms lived in the ceilings and dangled long strands of saliva that glowed at the ends. When flying insects went to investigate and became entangled, the worms suck up the saliva, insect and all.

Niko realized Cal's breathing had stopped, his eyes were locked on the TV, and his hand frozen half way to the bowl. Cal dropped the remainder of his popcorn and bolted from the room. Niko called out his name, but he was already gone. He quickly followed to his brother's bedroom, flicking off the TV as he went. Cal was pacing back and forth, fingers dug into his black hair. He glanced up at Niko. Etched in his face was the familiar panic Niko knew that came from fighting back down the worst memories of Tumulus.

Cal grimaced and turned away. "I'm fine," he snapped.

"Of course you are," Niko replied. He stepped forward and gripped his shoulder to keep him from pacing. "Tell me about it."

Throwing up his hands, Cal said, "It was those things on the show. It felt…like the worst case of creepy-ass deja vu." He slumped down to sit on the edge of his bed.

Niko sat next to him, a steadying hand on his brother's back. "You mean like Tumulus."

Cal nodded. "Sometimes," he ground out between gritted teeth. "when I'm waking up from a nightmare, I feel like tons of rock are hanging just over my head."

"Caves." Niko looked thoughtful. He filed this away under 'useful information,' and made a mental note to study up on caverns in the future. Cal may not be able to, but one of them should be armed with as much information as they could have, just in case.

Cal took a deep breath and straightened. He bumped his shoulder against Niko's. "Sorry. I know you've got work to do. You can go back to the show, and I'll hang out in here."

Niko tugged Cal's loose ponytail. "I'm never too busy when you need me. Besides, I need to think out some of the points I want to cover in my paper, and an evening run will help." He looked pointedly at Cal's running shoes he had tossed into his brother's room earlier.

Cal groaned, but reached down for his shoes in resignation. Niko reached behind the headboard to retrieve another knife for his brother to carry in addition to the one that never left his person. Cal looked at him quizzically.

"Take it. We may draw an extra predator or two, seeing as how you've already done them the favor of applying butter and salt to your head."

Cal's hand flashed up to where he'd buried his greasy fingers. He sighed. "Fucking perfect."

Niko hauled him to his feet. "Just think of it as a way to make the run more interesting." And more distracting, Niko silently finished to himself.


End file.
